MasterCard, Ecobank seal pact on new electronic payment scheme

Ecobank Transnational Inc., has signed a landmark multi-country agreement with MasterCard, to bring the latter’s payment solutions to more than 32 sub-Saharan African markets.

The development is a follow-up to the multi-country licensing agreement signed by the two institutions in January 2014.

The pact, sealed in Accra, Ghana, on Monday will see Ecobank issue MasterCard debit, prepaid, and credit cards to millions of its customers over the next 10 years.

Ecobank will also roll out innovative MasterCard acceptance solutions designed to expand the number of merchant locations that accept the payment solution on the continent.

The agreement will also see Ecobank roll out thousands of mobile point of sale devices to retailers in selected African countries, further boosting its current pan-African network.

Mobile point of sale devices allow merchants to process MasterCard payment card transactions by connecting their smartphone or tablet to a secure card reader, enabling them to overcome infrastructure and communication challenges that may arise when using traditional POS devices.

As a result of the agreement, cardholders will now be able to access their funds at millions of automated teller machines in Africa and worldwide. They will also be able to pay for products and services in 210 countries and territories where MasterCard payment cards are accepted today.

Under the agreement, over 1300 Ecobank subsidiaries will issue MasterCard-branded cards in like Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Other countries included in the scheme are The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Ecobank Nigeria, the largest of the Ecobank Group’s 36 African subsidiaries, has already commenced large-scale issuing of MasterCard payment products since April, last year.

Ecobank will also introduce the MasterCard Payment Gateway Service in selected countries to enhance online commerce for Ecobank’s small and medium enterprise, commercial and corporate customers.

The e-commerce payment technology enables merchants to accept MasterCard or other branded payment cards, extending the security and convenience of electronic payments to these e-tellers and their customers who previously depended on cash.

SOURCE:GUARDIAN NEWS